00:00In a rare move, the American Institute in Taiwan has posted twice on Facebook about
00:06recent defense meetings with senior Taiwanese officials.
00:09The AIT is the U.S.'s de facto embassy here in Taiwan.
00:13One post revealed that AIT Director Raymond Green met with Taiwan's Defense Minister
00:17Wellington Ku last Wednesday.
00:19The other highlighted Green's Monday meeting with opposition Kuomintang lawmakers.
00:24It's rare for the AIT to publicize interactions with senior national security officials.
00:29The meetings come after Taiwan's cabinet proposed a defense budget of more than 3 percent
00:33of GDP for next year, and that still needs legislative approval.
00:39To find out more about these meetings and what they mean, our reporter Alan Liu spoke with
00:43former Pentagon official Tony Hu.
00:46The AIT rarely goes public about meetings with Taiwanese officials on defense.
00:52Why do you think they did with this one?
00:54AIT is trying to highlight to both the ruling party and the opposition party that Taiwan's
00:59security is of concern to the United States.
01:02So, because there are those in Taiwan who believe the United States just want Taiwan to get into
01:09a conflict with China to weaken China and or just spend money to buy U.S. weapons, obviously
01:16that's very far from the truth.
01:19It is not what Taiwan and the United States want.
01:21So, to deter the war is a common objective for both Taiwan and the United States.
01:28So, that deterrence includes U.S.-Taiwan Defense Corporation to build up Taiwan's self-defense capability.
01:35And this is something I think AIT is trying to pass to both the ruling party and the opposition party.
01:43The AIT also revealed it held a meeting with five KMT lawmakers.
01:48Does this mean the U.S. is looking to strengthen communication and cooperation with the opposition?
01:54Why now?
01:55AIT is trying to make sure the people of Taiwan understand that United States has one common objective
02:04as far as defense cooperation, no matter whose is the ruling party, okay?
02:10So, it doesn't change when KMT is in power or DPP is in power.
02:16It doesn't change.
02:17It's the same objective.
02:18So, it's important for the opposition party right now, which is KMT, to also understand
02:25and stay informed of U.S. defense cooperation activities with Taiwan.
02:29And obviously, I suspect the defense budget was one of the discussion topics.
02:35And because many policymakers in the United States got a little bit worried in 2025 with
02:43KMT's drastic cut on the budget and the frozen portion of the budget.
02:50The new budget would raise defense spending to 3% of GDP.
02:55Is Washington likely to see that as enough?
02:57And from the U.S. perspective, which parts of Taiwan's defense spending matter most?
03:02It's hard to say what is enough for the Trump administration because the target keeps moving.
03:11But the key is whether it's enough to deter.
03:18So, instead of looking at which part of Taiwan's defense budget matters most, I suspect the United
03:23States will be looking at what gives Taiwan the biggest self-defense capability for the money.
03:30Basically, that's what we, when we say, get the biggest bang for the buck.
03:36I think this is what the U.S. side might be looking at.
03:42That was Tony Hu, a former official at the Pentagon.
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